Scars
by Miniature Titan
Summary: My take on Beast Boy's past. Warning: very short!
1. Chapter 1

Beast Boy hit the ground..hard. He looked above him to see Cinderblock raising his large, heavy arms for the final blow. Beast Boy closed his dark green eyes and braced himself for the impact but it never came. Confused, he opened them and witnessed Cinderblock being blasted with several green starbolts.

"You shall not harm my friends!" Starfire yelled as she summoned more of her starbolts and began shooting them at the ferocious concrete villain.

"Thanks, Star!" Beast Boy shouted just before turning into a T-Rex. He gritted his teeth as he felt every bone in his body bend and crack, grow and stretch. He was used to the pain, some animals he morphed into he could hardly feel anymore. Not the T-Rex however, the T-Rex was too big of a pain to not notice. Beast Boy began stampeding towards Cinderblock and used his large powerful head to knock him off of his feet.

Raven used this opportunity to tie him up using the telephone wires hanging overhead. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She summoned her powers and a wave of black magic brought the wires to life. They quickly wrapped around the large villain but Cinderblock was still too strong and broke them with ease.

Robin ran quickly to Raven's side. "There's gotta be a quicker way to do this." He clenched his fists.

"Leave that to me!"

Robin leapt out of the way of a running Cyborg who was preparing to blast this enemy to kingdom come. His robotic hand soon became the sonic cannon that villains were all too familiar with. Before Cinderblock could move, a large blue-white blast knocked him at least 100 feet, leaving massive destruction to the street in the process. "Boo-ya!" Cyborg recited his most famous line.

Beast Boy ran over to high-five his best friend. "Nice one, Cy!" He smiled his usual goofy grin. "Good guys win again! So who gets the pleasure of taking hunk of sidewalk to jail?"

All five Titans shouted at once, "Not it!" Everyone began laughing.

"I suppose..I'll do it." Robin managed to speak in between laughs. "But I expect everyone to be ready for a training exercise when I get back."

The other four Titans groaned in unison.

~Back at the Tower~

Raven, Starfire and Cyborg sat quietly on the couch, awaiting Robin's return while Beast Boy paced the floor. "What is it with that guy and training exercises?" He asked out loud. "That's the only thing we ever do around here!"

"I recall you spending the entire weekend watching Battle of the Planets." Raven muttered in her usual monotone voice.

Beast Boy just shrugged. "I'm just sayin, I think that guy might be a little obsessed with training." He came over and sat on the couch next to Cyborg.

"Training improves your potential." A voice behind the Titans spoke. Robin soon came into view. "How else are we supposed to get better?" Robin came and stood in front of the couch. "Now we will train in teams today. Cyborg, you will help Starfire. Raven, Beast Boy."

Raven looked unhappy about being paired with the green changeling. "What about you?" She asked Robin.

"I'll train alone for now." Robin began to head down to the gym. "Come get me if you need anything."

Cyborg was the first to stand. "C'mon Star, let's get this over with." The two headed outside.

Raven sighed as she stood from the couch.

"I hope you're ready for me to kick your butt." Beast Boy teased.

Raven simply rolled her violet eyes and the two, not so great friends, headed after Cyborg and Starfire.

~2 hours later~

"So what was that about you kicking my butt?" Raven asked Beast Boy as they re-entered the Tower. She chuckled slightly at Beast Boy's limping. She had given it pretty hard to him out there.

"I went easy on you." Beast Boy never failed to smile. He headed off down the hallway.

Robin wanted every detail of their training today and Cyborg gave it to him. During this time, Starfire had wandered to the kitchen in search of the container of mustard. Raven shuddered as she watched this. She never understood how Starfire could drink that disgusting yellow substance. When Cyborg was finished Robin seemed impressed with everyone's work.

"Nice job guys." Robin's eyes wandered to his communicator which was flashing and beeping. "Titans! Trouble!" He looked around. "Raven get Beast Boy and meet us outside. Hurry!" He shouted as he and the others ran out of the room.

Raven sighed. "You've got to be kidding me." She mumbled. Raven flew down the hallway and pounded on Beast Boy's door. "Beast Boy come on! We have to go." There was no answer. Raven knocked again. "Hello?" Still there was no answer. Raven shut her eyes, "You better be decent in there!" she warned as she opened up the door to his room and stepped inside. What she saw next took her breath away.


	2. Chapter 2

Raven stood at the doorway, mouth wide open. In front of her stood Beast Boy with his back to her and headphones on, which explained why he didn't answer. Beast Boy was also shirtless. But Raven wasn't surprised at this, she was surprised at the long, ragged scars that covered his back.

Beast Boy reached up to take off the headphones and placed them on a table near his bed.

Raven started to speak but choked on her own words, all that came out was a sort of gurgling sound.

At this, Beast Boy immediately turned around. "Ah! Raven! What are you doing?" He quickly grabbed a shirt off the floor and threw it on, hoping Raven hadn't seen.

Raven cleared her throat, "Trouble. Robin's waiting for us so hurry." Raven then turned and exited the room. She stood outside his room in the hallway for a moment, wondering what exactly she just saw. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and soon joined Robin and the others outside.

~one crazy battle later...~

"I can't believe Cinderblock broke out of jail that fast." Cyborg commented as the Titans arrived home once more. He sat on the couch and picked up a controller. "Hey BB, wanna race?" He called to his green friend.

"No thanks, Cy." Beast Boy replied. "I'll be in my room."

Cyborg merely shrugged. "Robin?"

Robin hopped on the couch beside him. "Only if you feel like losing!" He taunted.

Beast Boy walked slowly to his room. The last battle really did a number on him. He must've shape-shifted 30 different times. Beast Boy's muscles ached in pain. But as much as he was in pain, that wasn't Beast Boy's biggest concern. His biggest concern was Raven. He was starting to think she saw his scars, she acted strangely after she walked in on him. Beast Boy shuddered "If anyone knew..." He said to himself.

"If anyone knew what?" came a monotone voice from behind.

Beast Boy jumped. "Raven! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Raven ignored him. "If anyone knew what?" She pressed.

Beast Boy bit his lip. "If anyone knew...that...I still sleep with my teddy bear!" He smiled. "You caught me Rae, well see ya!" Beast Boy pushed Raven out of his room and closed the door.

Raven stood outside for a moment, one eyebrow raised. She was going to get it out of him, whether Beast Boy liked it or not. Nobody keeps secrets from Raven.


	3. Chapter 3

Raven was determined to find out what Beast Boy was hiding. Ever since that day he's been avoiding her, she just knew it. Every time she found herself in the same room with him, he would find an excuse to leave. Fortunately no one else has really noticed. Raven has had enough of it. She walked right up to him. "Hey Beast Boy, you got a second?"

Beast Boy looked at his watch. "Sure I've got a second and-whoops there it went!" And with that he turned and began to walk away.

Raven placed her hand on his shoulder. "Come with me." She ordered. "Now."

~outside~

Beast Boy sat on the edge of a rock and threw his legs over the side. "Alright so what do you want?"

Raven stood close behind him. "For you to tell me why you're avoiding me." Her patience was wearing thin with this kid. "And don't tell me it's nothing."

"Trust me, it's better if you don't know." Beast Boy stated simply.

Raven clenched her fists. "Then you're a coward. This is a team, we shouldn't keep secrets."

At this Beast Boy stood up and dug his nails into his palms. "I put up with a lot of names you call me, Raven." He bared his teeth. "But don't you EVER call me a coward! You know nothing about me!" Beast Boy turned his back to her. "And I'm not the only one who keeps secrets."

Raven was shocked at his sudden outburst. Beast Boy never gets angry. She took a deep, calming breath and held her tears back. "I have secrets to protect the people I care about." She choked out.

"Oh so what, do you think I have secrets just for the fun of it?" Beast Boy shot back. "If any of you guys knew...you'd never treat me the same way again." He quietly sat back on the rock. The waves rolled up against his legs. "None of you understand what it's like to be me."

Raven sat next to him. "What do you mean?" She asked him quietly.

"Don't worry about it."

"I worry about it because believe it or not, I care about you."

Beast Boy turned to meet Raven's eyes. "You mean that?"

Raven nodded, which got a smile from Beast Boy. "Now." Raven turned to give him her full attention. "Tell me everything."


	4. Chapter 4

Beast Boy looked off into the black sky. "My life isn't exactly easy to talk about." his voice trailed off.

Raven put her hand on top of Beast Boy's. "I know, but can you just try. Please, for me?"

"Aw Raven, ya know I can't resist it when you beg." Beast Boy smirked. "Alright well..I guess it all started when I was little. You guys remember me telling you about my parents and how I got my powers?"

Raven gave a small nod.

"Well.." Beast Boy continued. "I didn't tell you everything. About my powers, I mean."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there are some things you guys don't know, and I never wanted you to find out."

Raven bit her lip. "You're talking about the Beast, aren't you?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "No no..not the Beast. Besides, I just recently found out about him. No, I'm talking about when I shape-shift."

Raven raised an eyebrow. She had removed her hand from Beast Boy's at this point, and was playing with the hem of her cloak. "What happens when you shape-shift?"

"...It hurts."

Raven now looked at Beast Boy. "It hurts? What do you mean it hurts?"

"I mean it hurts Raven! Every bone, every muscle being torn and shredded, stretched and maneuvered..." He fell silent. "I never wanted to tell you."

Raven stood up from her rock. "Beast Boy this..this is bad! If it hurts this much you shouldn't be fighting! Why haven't you told us this before?"

Beast Boy looked away. "Because I like fighting. I like being a Teen Titan. I like helping Jump City. I was afraid if I told you, I'd never get to do those things again."

At this, Raven sat back down. She felt as though she finally understood. She would have done the same thing.

"Promise you won't tell Robin." Beast Boy's voice interrupted Raven's thoughts.

"I promise." She whispered.

Beast Boy stood up and stretched. "Well that's enough for now." He turned and started to head back into the house.

"Woah Beast Boy wait! You can't just..stop like that." Raven protested.

Beast Boy stifled a yawn. "Yeah, I can when its 2 in the morning."

Raven checked her phone. "Oh. Sorry, yeah I will see you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight Rav."

"Goodnight."


	5. Chapter 5

Beast Boy's alarm clock went off at 6:00. "Ughhh." Beast Boy groaned as he got out of bed. "Stupid Robin and his stupid training exercises at 6 in the morning." On his way out his bedroom door a nasty smell invaded his nose. Beast Boy made a face. "Ew what is that?" He dared to take a sniff. "HAM? Ugh...Cyborg!"

Cyborg was humming a quick little tune while dishing out slices of ham to his team. "I wonder when BB will get here?"

Starfire took a huge bite. "Perhaps friend Beast Boy is still sleeping." She said with her mouth full.

"He better not be." Robin looked off at the door to the living room. "We have a lot of work to do today."

At this moment, Beast Boy entered the room holding his nose. "Dude, Cyborg! What gives?"

Cyborg merely shrugged. "I'm just making breakfast."

"Well what am I supposed to eat?"

Cyborg held out a slice of ham towards his friend. "Eat this meat."

"Ew, no. I'm a vegetarian dude!"

"Then I guess you'll have to make your own breakfast."

Beast Boy sighed and headed towards the fridge. On his way, he locked eyes with Raven. He remembered the conversation they held just last night. "On second thought, I'm not hungry for breakfast." Beast Boy waited until everyone was finished.

"That was most appetizing Cyborg!" Starfire praised. "My stomachs are all much filled."

Robin stood up, "Everyone meet me outside. Today we are going to put your powers to the test."

~Outside~

"Get ready Beast Boy." Robin held the timer in his hand.

Beast Boy was hoping he might be able to go through the obstacle course without turning into any animals. He walked to the starting line and gave Robin a thumbs up.

"Wait!" Cyborg yelled as he ran up to Beast Boy and attached something to his arm.

"What's this for?" Beast Boy asked motioning to the device.

"Just monitors your body systems. Nothing to worry about." Cyborg ran back to the others. Everyone else had already completed their individual obstacle courses and Beast Boy was the last to go.

"Let's get this over with." He muttered to himself while getting into a running position.

"On your mark, get set!" Robin clicked the timer. "GO!"

Beast Boy took off running. Almost immediately after, large cylinders came out of the ground and began firing small explosives at him. Contrary to what the other Titans believed, Beast Boy was actually pretty skilled when it came down to it, and he dodged the explosives with ease.

He maneuvered throughout the rest of the obstacle course and was almost finished when the ground gave way beneath him. Panicking, Beast Boy shape-shifted into a raven. He gritted his teeth as he felt his bones shrinking to fit the new, smaller form. He flew up out of the ground and to the finish line where he transformed back into his normal self.

Starfire flew up and gave him a bone-crushing hug. "Glorious! You have beaten the record Beast Boy!" She squealed as she removed the device from his arm.

~Back Inside~

Cyborg was going over everyone's monitored levels. Everything seemed pretty normal, now for Beast Boy's. Normal...normal...everything seems to be-wait a second! Cyborg went back and found a spike in Beast Boy's pain level. He tracked it to the same time when BB transformed into that bird. Cyborg bit his lip, "Robin!" He called.

Robin appeared in a few short seconds. "What is it, Cyborg?"

"Check out BB's pain levels." Cyborg pointed at the monitor.

Robin couldn't think of anything to say. He finally spoke, "Does this mean..mean it hurts when he shape-shifts?"

Cyborg nodded.

"Why didn't he tell us?"

"Why don't you go ask him?"

Robin nodded and headed off to find Beast Boy.

~BB's Room~

Beast Boy opened his door to find Robin standing there. He obviously was the one who was knocking. "Am I in trouble or something?" Beast Boy guessed by the look on Robin's face that he must have done something.

"Beast Boy, why didn't you tell us it hurts you to change into animals?"

The color drained from Beast Boy's face, making it an almost sickly gray. "Who told you that?" He demanded.

Robin stepped inside of his room. "It doesn't matter, why didn't-"

"Raven told you, didn't she!" Beast Boy clenched his fists. "She promised!"

Robin pinched the bridge of his nose. "No Cyborg found it on the monitoring device when-hang on. Raven knows about this?"

Beast Boy said nothing.

"Beast Boy, I don't want you to do anything that might hurt you. Maybe it's better if you just-"

"If I what, Robin?!" Beast Boy was clearly angry. "Quit the team?!"

It was Robin's turn to say nothing.

With a growl, Beast Boy pushed Robin out of his room. "I'm a Teen Titan and I always will be! There's nothing anyone can do to make me change my mind!" And with that, he slammed the door.


	6. Chapter 6

The Tower was awfully quiet for once. It seemed strange to the other Titans that Beast Boy wasn't up to anything or making jokes. He just sat in his room all day, only coming out for meals and when there was trouble in Jump City. It was now lunchtime and it was Starfire's turn to cook.

Cyborg held his stomach in remembrance of the last time Starfire made something. Still, it was better than Beast Boy's tofu stuff.

The Titans ate in silence, Beast Boy being the last one to sit at the table. He hardly touched his glurk scales.

"Beast Boy, you are not hungry?"

Beast Boy looked up at Starfire and shook his head. He stood up and began to head back to his room.

At this point, Raven was fed up with this crap and followed him. "What's the matter with you? You hardly eat, you never speak to anyone and you stay in your room all day long!"

Beast Boy blinked and said nothing. He turned to close his bedroom door.

Raven stuck her foot out, stopping the door midway. "We need to talk."

Her green friend sighed and spoke for the first time in a week. "Fine Raven, lets talk."

"You told me a little about your powers, but you didn't tell me much."

"Where did we leave off?" Beast Boy sat on his bed next to Raven.

"You told me it hurts to change."

"...right. Well Robin found out."

"I know." Raven stared off at his wall, she noticed for the first time that there were several claw markings along it. "But I didn't tell him."

"I know. Well, The Doom Patrol were the ones who helped me control my powers."

Raven nodded. "They're legendary. How come you never talk about them?"

Beast Boy was silent.

"Come on, talk to me." Raven prodded.

"It was just something I did once. No big deal."

Raven crossed her arms. "It's obviously a big deal. I can sense your emotions, you know." And right now she was sensing...anger? Was Beast Boy angry at his former team?

Beast Boy swallowed. "Mento.." he began, and then shut his mouth and closed his eyes.

Raven scooted closer. "Your old leader, what about him?"

"He had no respect for me. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, I was always a failure in his eyes. You saw him when we were fighting the Brotherhood of Evil."

"Beast Boy, he was just angry that the Brain got away." Raven tried to sympathize with him.

"He was vile and cruel." Beast Boy hung his head. "He never thought I'd amount to anything. That's why I quit. I had to get away from him."

Raven bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Beast Boy."

"For what?" Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at her.

"For everything that Mento did to you. I'm glad you're with us now."

Beast Boy smiled. "Me too."


	7. Chapter 7

Since their talk, Raven noticed that Beast Boy was now back to his old self. Playing jokes on Starfire, eating tofu and challenging Cyborg to race. But somehow Raven still got the feeling that there was more to the story than what Beast Boy told her.

"If Beast Boy wanted me to know, he would have told me." She scolded herself as she walked into the living room.

"You can want! You can try! But you can't catch Cy!" Cyborg taunted as he raced past Beast Boy's car.

Beast Boy slowed his car on purpose. He had to keep his character up or the others would get suspicious. He knew Raven was already suspicious enough.

"Take that!" Cyborg crossed the finish line. He stood up and began to do a victory dance. "Oh yeah! Go Cyborg! Go Cyborg!"

Beast Boy lowered his ears. "Aw man."

"Told ya you couldn't catch me." Cyborg said with a smirk.

Beast Boy playfully punched him in the arm. "Yeah you got me, Cy." He smiled. "I'll see you guys later." Beast Boy stood up and headed into his room.

Raven watched as he shut the door slowly behind him. "Hmm." She muttered to herself as she followed him. She was about to knock when she heard voices coming from the other side of the door. She stopped to listen.

"What are you talking about?" One voice asked. Raven recognized it as Beast Boy's.

"Come on Garfield, you can't really keep this up forever. The others will find out."

Raven bit her tongue. Who was the owner of the other voice? And why did it sound so...familiar?

"The won't find out. I'll make sure of it." Beast Boy argued.

The other voice whispered something so low that Raven could not hear it. She took a step closer and strained to hear what was being said. The floor beneath her creaked and the voices stopped. Raven mentally cursed herself.

A few shuffling sounds were heard before Beast Boy opened the door. His eyes looked at her hard. "What are you doing here?"

"I-uh I was just.." Raven stammered. She couldn't think of a good enough excuse to be eavesdropping on him like that. She took a deep breath. "Who were you talking to?"

"I wasn't talking to anyone."

"Come on Beast Boy, I heard you. Who was it?"

Beast Boy looked angry. "Why can't you just stay out of it?"

Raven pushed her way past him into his room. "I heard voices. I know I did." She turned to him. "So tell me who you were talking to."

Beast Boy groaned and motioned for Raven to have a seat on his bed. She did. Beast Boy stood in front of her. "It was my other half."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You're other half?"

"Yes, the animal part of me." Beast Boy looked away. "The Beast."

Raven folded her hands uncomfortably. "I didn't know the Beast could...talk."

Beast Boy nodded. "He can talk all right."

"What did he tell you?"

Silence.

"Beast Boy?"

"That I couldn't keep hiding behind my mask." Beast Boy faced away from her. "That I couldn't keep cracking jokes and playing games forever."

"But you love those things." Raven protested. "It's who you are."

Beast Boy clenched his fists. "No. It's not."

"What do you-"

Beast Boy turned around to face her. "I'm not a jokester. I don't like doing pranks. And I'm actually really good at video games. I'd kick Cyborg's ass if I wanted to."

Raven was speechless. She stared at the person she once thought she knew.

"Everyone thinks I'm this child, but honestly.." Beast Boy met Raven's eyes. "I'm more like you."

"Like me? How?"

"I like reading. I enjoy being alone and thinking quietly to myself. It soothes me."

Raven stood up in a huff. "Well if you hate acting like a prankster all the time, why do you do it?!"

"To balance out my other half." He looked at his hands. "To keep the Beast at bay."

Raven shook her head in disbelief. "But you acted like this even before the whole Beast incident."

"I always had another half. An animal side. The Beast just made it stronger."

Raven put her hand on his shoulder. "I..I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, Raven." Beast Boy shook her hand off. "The animal half of me comes from so many years of being treated like one." Beast Boy grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it off, revealing his scars. "I know you saw my scars the other day. I've always been so afraid to tell anyone."

Raven covered her mouth. There were so many, lining his chest, arms and especially his back. She hesitantly reached out her hand and ran her fingers over a particularly deep scar going across his chest.

Beast Boy flinched.

Raven drew her hand back, "Sorry." She mumbled. "So these are all from people who..."

"Who treated me like an animal? Abused me? Yes."

Raven shifted to one side. "Do you...wanna talk about it?"

He shook his head. "No..not really."

Raven nodded in understanding. She still couldn't get over the fact that the person she thought she knew, was a lie.

"If you don't mind Rav, I'd like to be alone."

Raven nodded. "Oh yeah, sure." She turned and began to head out. She stopped once she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think I have to tell you not to tell anyone, right?"

Raven smiled. "Of course I won't tell."

Beast Boy smiled back. He drew his hand back and was about to shut the door when he stopped suddenly. He looked at her.

"Beast Boy? What's-"

Raven was suddenly cut off as Beast Boy pressed his lips against hers. He was kissing her. Beast Boy was kissing Raven. And Raven was kissing back.


End file.
